2026 Alaska itineraries

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, Astromaid said:

I just looked at them and on several cruises I was interested in, only inside and ocean view are available to book. All other staterooms say unavailable.

Weird. We were able to book an aft-facing veranda on our June 2026 Alaska Arctic cruise. And when I just checked, all categories were available. 

[Astromaid]

I am looking at the north bound cruises in August and September 2025. I should have been more specific.

[CRUZERWANNABE]

I booked the 7 day round trip from Vancouver June 6, 2026 on the Koningsdam, my TA didn't have the info on their website yet, so I emailed with all the info and they called me back. 

[srsurman]

For all the couples that booked a cabin that fits 4 - let me know which cruise and cabin so my family of 4 can bump you.  🤡

[craig01020]

I priced out Aug. 2026 7-day Alaska cruises in a balcony cabin, but it was cheaper to sail on Rotterdam to Iceland, so that's what I booked.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 8/28/2024 at 2:20 PM, PROCRUISE said:

Highly recommend HAL land/sea tours. I would always do the land tour first followed by the cruise Just getting to ride the HAL McKinley Explorer Train was worth the whole trip for me. HAL and Princess have been cruising to Alaska longer than the other cruise lines and HAL is considered by many to be the best. I have cruised in Alaska with both and did find HAL to be a little better, especially onboard food if that makes a difference to you. Enjoy planning.

Thanks, but we have already booked with Princess. We did book the land portion first. 

[bogalusa]

Itineraries up on HAL's site
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/find-a-cruise?destinationIds:(A)

[QueenWiggler]

We just booked the May 2026 14 Day Great Alaska Explorer. I am so excited but it is our first Holland America cruise so I will be learning a lot over the next 2 years 😄 

[Crew News]

5 hours ago, QueenWiggler said:

We just booked the May 2026 14 Day Great Alaska Explorer. I am so excited but it is our first Holland America cruise so I will be learning a lot over the next 2 years 😄 

Please join the roll call for this cruise (link below).  There will be lots of information exchanged to help your planning.

 

May 3 - 17, 2026 Nieuw Amsterdam 14-Day Alaska Great Explorer Roll Call

Edited September 1 by Crew News

[EMBFlyer]

On 8/28/2024 at 1:55 PM, Astromaid said:

I just looked at them and on several cruises I was interested in, only inside and ocean view are available to book. All other staterooms say unavailable.

I noticed this, as well, for the southbound sailings out of Whittier. Is this normal for HAL? Could all the suites and balconies be sold out already?

[veronicruise]

11 minutes ago, EMBFlyer said:

I noticed this, as well, for the southbound sailings out of Whittier. Is this normal for HAL? Could all the suites and balconies be sold out already?

I wanted a southbound sailing as well. My cruise consultant told me the suites and balconies are reserved for the land/sea packages. I was so annoyed and begrudgingly booked with Princess. 

[Ken the cruiser]

36 minutes ago, veronicruise said:

I wanted a southbound sailing as well. My cruise consultant told me the suites and balconies are reserved for the land/sea packages. I was so annoyed and begrudgingly booked with Princess. 

No worries. We were just on the Grand Princess for 22 days in May and had an awesome time cruising around Alaska! See my Live From thread below.

[QueenWiggler]

Mine is the 14 day RT from Vancouver and also only has interior and ocean view rooms...i dont know that we could afford a balcony but I would love one. I dont think there would be a landtour with that one...? I could be wrong of course

[KruisinKath]

2 hours ago, veronicruise said:

I wanted a southbound sailing as well. My cruise consultant told me the suites and balconies are reserved for the land/sea packages. I was so annoyed and begrudgingly booked with Princess. 

I don’t believe that’s true. I booked for July 2025 right when the schedule came out and got a suite and a balcony, and my mom booked a balcony a couple months later. All before the land tours came out, via my PCC.  You may want to have yours check again or try to talk to another PCC.  

[veronicruise]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No worries. We were just on the Grand Princess for 22 days in May and had an awesome time cruising around Alaska! See my Live From thread below.

Good to know! I enjoyed looking through your live thread just now.

 

46 minutes ago, KruisinKath said:

I don’t believe that’s true. I booked for July 2025 right when the schedule came out and got a suite and a balcony, and my mom booked a balcony a couple months later. All before the land tours came out, via my PCC.  You may want to have yours check again or try to talk to another PCC.  

I wish it wasn't true because I missed the suite I wanted with Princess by waiting for Holland, but I've asked 2 different PCCs and they both confirmed the same thing for 2026 northbound and southbound and 14 day RT from Vancouver that don't include a land portion. You can see for yourself on the website. The 7 day roundtrip, though, does have balcony and suites available. I guess they might open the leftover balconies much later, closer to sailing.

Edited September 3 by veronicruise

[KruisinKath]

45 minutes ago, veronicruise said:

Good to know! I enjoyed looking through your live thread just now.

 

I wish it wasn't true because I missed the suite I wanted with Princess by waiting for Holland, but I've asked 2 different PCCs and they both confirmed the same thing for 2026 northbound and southbound and 14 day RT from Vancouver that don't include a land portion. You can see for yourself on the website. The 7 day roundtrip, though, does have balcony and suites available. I guess they might open the leftover balconies much later, closer to sailing.

Well, that’s BS!  I guess I should be glad that didn’t happen to me last year!  Hopefully your cruise on Princess will be awesome!

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, veronicruise said:

Good to know! I enjoyed looking through your live thread just now.

 

I wish it wasn't true because I missed the suite I wanted with Princess by waiting for Holland, but I've asked 2 different PCCs and they both confirmed the same thing for 2026 northbound and southbound and 14 day RT from Vancouver that don't include a land portion. You can see for yourself on the website. The 7 day roundtrip, though, does have balcony and suites available. I guess they might open the leftover balconies much later, closer to sailing.

Just a thought. But since you weren’t able to secure the suite you were hoping to get, hopefully you were able to book a reserve collection mini suite before they were all booked. For us being able to dine in the Reserve Collection dining area makes a huge difference.

[veronicruise]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just a thought. But since you weren’t able to secure the suite you were hoping to get, hopefully you were able to book a reserve collection mini suite before they were all booked. For us being able to dine in the Reserve Collection dining area makes a huge difference.

I managed to get a vista suite, just not the deck and side that I wanted. Not a big deal, really...just a little frustrating. I don't know how often I'll be able to enjoy the reserve dining though. The rest of my group will be sharing my large balcony but they don't have suites so can't share all the perks.

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, veronicruise said:

I managed to get a vista suite, just not the deck and side that I wanted. Not a big deal, really...just a little frustrating. I don't know how often I'll be able to enjoy the reserve dining though. The rest of my group will be sharing my large balcony but they don't have suites so can't share all the perks.

Hopefully you’ll be able to at least have breakfast in Sabatinis most mornings. In any event, you’re going to have an awesome time, rain or shine, as the aft-facing VS balconies are fully covered and protected from the wind! 😁

[carolina_yankee]

16 hours ago, veronicruise said:

I wanted a southbound sailing as well. My cruise consultant told me the suites and balconies are reserved for the land/sea packages. I was so annoyed and begrudgingly booked with Princess. 

 

If true, that is extremely annoying. I get holding the best cabins for a week or two for people with certain levels of status, but to lock out people who want the cruise itinerary without the land tour component is just rude. 

 

We are going to do the land portion on our own. I would probably prefer HAL for Glacier Bay, but we will see plenty of glaciers before we sail, so I will happily jump to Celebrity. I would prefer departing from Seward, anyway, for our land tour itinerary reasons.

 

I would consider Princess, but I'm not happy with the premium for their Mini Suites that seem to be the closest to a standard verandah on HAL or Celebrity (loveseat or sofa, plus desk chair), and I'm not sure our onboard experience would be as nice as Celebrity (which probably fits our vibe more) or HAL. 

 

So, I'm still sitting and waiting. The first person who lets me book the kind of cabin I want on a ship and itinerary I will be happy with will get my business!

Edited September 4 by carolina_yankee